Smart…& Smarter

PEACEFULLY CO-EXISTING WITH YOUR HOME’S TECH

By Lisa J. Gotto

Unless you’re professionally tech savvy, the concept of creating an entirely “smart” home can have you frantically searching Amazon for the latest version of Home Automation for Dummies. While many consumers have been comfortably adjusting to new in-home features like programmable thermostats and door cams on a piecemeal basis, the thought of an entirely wired home remains a far-off prospect for a great many others.

We are getting there, however. According to Statista’s Digital Market Outlook, it is anticipated that by 2025, 77.1 million households in the U.S. will carry the designation of a “smart home.” If those statistics surprise you, or even instill in you a pang of FOMO, remember, even the longest destinations begin with one step.

Perhaps, if we strategically divided the primary aspects of the concept into more easily digestible parts, we can co-exist with your home’s world of tech more comfortably. Because that’s really what’s it’s all about; isn’t it? Being more comfortable and secure in your home, and adding a layer of convenience that makes life at home easier—an overall better quality of life.

So, let’s break this down into several smart categories: Security solutions, comfort control, appliances and accessories, the kitchen, and device integration.

Security Solutions

This sector has become increasingly important to homeowners, and for many, it’s more than just safeguarding the home against break-ins. Security includes video surveillance to see who’s at the door and when, alerts if the home has been compromised by fire, or if poisonous gases have been detected. Security systems also monitor a home’s access control system; these systems have specifically been predicted by a global 2022 Research and Markets report, to be the fastest-growing solutions-based aspect of home automation. The report, which forecast global market trends in tech for the period of 2022 through 2030, also indicates that the Do-ItYourself (DIY) category will experience the fastest growth in terms of installation of systems.

If you’re a trailblazing DIY’er, not all systems are created equal, and you will have a plethora of providers to choose from, each drilling down to a menu of security and surveillance option packages. For those looking for the “Best of” aspect in this category, This Old House, recently rated them as follows: SimpliSafe, Best for Easy Installation; Blue by ADT, Best for No Contract; Abode, Best for Customization; Alder, Best for Medical Alerts; Cove Security, Best for DIY Value; and Ooma, Best for Self-Monitoring. This Old House also weighed in that when it comes to pets and security systems, ADT gets high marks because its sensors do the best job at detecting the difference between a pet and an intruder.

Choosing to self-monitor your home’s security system is a great way to cut costs, but there are so many plans and options available per plan, that costs here are normally manageable with a monthly service fee, some starting as low as less than $30 per month. This option provides for the expedient notification of a breech to the homeowner and to local law enforcement, which for many consumers has immeasurable value. Your plan cost will also increase as you add video surveillance cameras to the equation. Cameras have proven time and again to be a worthy addition, as they not only identify individuals in the home that shouldn’t be there, they also provide a timestamp as to when people who should be there, got home. Hashtag, parenting!

After a slight dip in 2020, sales of programmable thermostats in the U.S. have rebounded and are surpassing pre-pandemic levels according Fortune Business Insights. And the market is forecast to grow from the 1.1-million-dollar mark in 2021 to 3.2 million in 2028. These devices, which are easy to install, use Artificial Intelligence to detect patterns in use and personal preferences, which help conserve energy over time resulting in lower utility bills. For this utility, consumers are turning most often to Google’s Nest, the Honeywell Home Wi-Fi Thermostat, and Ecobee. The average cost of installing one programmable thermostat is $300—a small price that will easily pay for itself.

Appliances & Accessories

This is perhaps where most of us have some experience with Smart Home applications. If you just got done streaming the latest docu-series on Harry & Meghan then you have, most likely, already purchased a Smart TV, and you are considerably likely to have more than one of them in your home, as consumers continue to cut the cable cord for good.

Comfort Control

This aspect of the Smart Home is beginning to look like the biggest no-brainer going. Why pay for something you do not immediately need? The truth is, there is absolutely no reason to waste money overly heating or cooling a home that is not being actively lived in. Whether it’s a second home, a multi-zone home, or just a weekend away, it makes sense to adjust your usage requirement accordingly—and remotely via application.

The advent of the virtual voice assistant has not been without its detractors. As it was initially so cool to ask a willing Siri or Alexa to play your favorite song, it became something else altogether when we realized that not only were these techno gals listening when we needed them to, they were “listening” all the time. Since those early days, consumers have had to become smarter about how much convenience is too much convenience. Caveat emptor! The conscientious Echo Dot owner now knows the ins and outs of connectivity and is personally tasked via the device’s menus and options with making sure they are “available” on pre-determined basis only.

Probably the easiest way to start making your home “smarter” is to introduce your outlets to a Smart plug. Simply plug this device into your outlet, add the device application to your phone, and viola!—once your appliance is plugged into the upgraded outlet, you will be to control any appliance plugged into that outlet via your Smart phone. So, you won’t be able to duck out of that seminar because you left your flat iron on anymore, but you will be able to turn off the duck you’re roasting in the oven from the tub when the timer goes off. Pick up a Smart plug for about $25 and start taking longer soaks today!

A Smart bulb works a lot like the outlet. Replace a standard bulb with a Smart bulb, and you can control the lighting in your home via app, even if you aren’t in your home. This is another money-saved-over-time scenario. With the average cost of a Smart bulb coming in at $15 per bulb, you will need more time to see the savings.

The Smart Kitchen

Not only is there a myriad of smaller kitchen appliances that have revolutionized the way we fry chicken, or mix a cocktail (we’re looking at you, bev, Black and

Decker’s answer to pod-produced java), entire lines of Smart major appliances are in-demand by conscientious and time-strapped consumers everywhere. To answer the demand, manufacturers like LG are already on their second and third generations of Smart high-end major appliances like their Smart ThinQ refrigerator that works with proprietary apps that help track food freshness, manage healthy eating strategies, and even create a grocery shopping list. Their Smart Pro-Bake convection range is wi-fi enabled, and offers air-frying and sous vide cooking modes in one unit.

As consumer expectation around technology continues to grow, manufacturers are definitely thinking outside the “big box” to provide experiences that take some of guess work out of managing a home, and provide next-level tools that were inconceivable even a decade ago.